Luna's Return
by Miss Magic 101
Summary: Luna was taken by the Death Eaters despite Neville's best efforts to save the woman he loves. What happens when Luna returns to Hogwarts giving Neville a reason to believe and love once again? Will Neville confess his feelings to Luna in the war which has seemingly brought them together? Rated T to be safe. ONE SHOT


**Hi everyone, I'm back again with another Neville/Luna story. These two are so my OTP, they just make so much sense together I think. Anyway this is how I think Luna's return to Hogwarts would have played out. I hope you enjoy it!_  
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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does, this is purely a work of fanfiction.**

**Let me know what you think.**

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**Luna's Return**

Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom were best friends, they had been since the day they had met on the Hogwarts Express in Luna's fourth year and Neville's fifth. They felt a connection between the two of them, mostly because no one else understood or valued them. Neville was seen as a useless nobody by most other people, and Luna was permanently nicknamed 'Loony' by the vast majority of the Hogwarts population. Neville and Luna had both been outcasts in the past, which was what had brought them together in the first place; they had found a kindred spirit in each other, their first true friend. Throughout their fifth and fourth year at Hogwarts, Neville and Luna's friendship had been solidified, the one permanent thing that each of them had to depend on in the face of increasingly likely warfare, and as the last year had shown in particular, a hostile Hogwarts environment.

Neville remembered with fondness every single moment he had ever shared with Luna, whether it was just the two of them alone, or whether they were accompanied by other friends of theirs like Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Their friendship had really come to the forefront of each other's lives during the meetings for Dumbledore's Army in Neville's fifth and Luna's fourth year. They had walked to Hogsmeade together to meet Harry, both deliberating exactly what would come of this meeting with intense curiosity. They partnered together during all the meetings, mostly because they wanted to but also due in a tiny part, to the fact that no one else would pick them to be their partners. Luna had excelled where Neville had struggled and had often been the first to master the spells which Harry taught them about, which often left Neville feeling like he was falling behind. Where the rest of the class had been exasperated and a bit annoyed by Neville's inability to pick up the simplest of spells however, Luna was patient, taking time to sit with him when others would not and instruct Neville on exactly how to perform the spells, over and over again, with an unwavering belief that he would pick them up. Neville remembered the first time he had disarmed something; Luna had been the first to see and before anyone else, even Neville, could react, she had flown into his arms, shocking him as she engulfed him in a huge hug while she babbled about how proud she was, and Neville was simply enticed by the slight cinnamon smell of her hair. There had been a few catcalls from their classmates but Neville couldn't have cared less; he had been hugged by the girl he had a crush on, nothing in life could have brought him down at that moment in time.

Luna had been the first person to whom Neville had told his deepest secret; that his parents were in St. Mungo's, tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange. They had stayed behind after one of the Dumbledore's Army meetings, in the first instance to practice the Patronus Charm. However soon this had been forgotten as they sat and talked about anything and everything. Luna had confided in Neville about her mother's death when she was nine, showing the first sign of vulnerability since Neville had known her, as she wiped tears from her eyes and gratefully accepted his hug. Neville had then found his mouth spilling out words about his parents, which he had never divulged in another person before. Luna had listened quietly, never taking her eyes off Neville's and knowing the exact moment to grasp his hand for comfort without even needing any prompting whatsoever. Luna had told Neville his parents would be proud of him, and that somewhere deep down, they still had some memory of him; it may just be that they didn't know how to access that memory to show him how they felt. Neville remembered even now, how these simple words had provided more comfort than anything else he had ever heard before, and that was the exact moment where Neville Longbottom realised he had fallen in love with Luna Lovegood; her unique and dreamy ways had captured his heart and she still had a hold on it two years later.

Next came the Battle of the Department of Mysteries; now called an official Battle as it had led to the current situation everyone was in, fighting a War against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Neville had tried to protect Luna from Professor Umbridge with little success, meaning that they had both got dragged into her office and interrogated; Neville fearing for Luna's safety more than his own, as she looked a little nonplussed by the whole hostage situation which had unfolded around her. Miraculously they had escaped unharmed and accompanied Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny to the Ministry of Magic. Neville had pulled Luna out of danger a fair few times during this Battle as well, mostly because she often simply got distracted by what was around her and forgot the danger for a second; Neville had wished he could do this. Luna had stayed close to Neville throughout the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, he had no idea why, but he had to say that he had enjoyed it and was glad when, despite Bellatrix Lestrange's best efforts, they got out of there alive, with little more than a sprained ankle on Neville's part after he had lunged at Fenrir Greyback for grabbing Luna, and a few cuts and bruises. They had sat talking for that whole night in the Hospital Wing yet again, unnoticed by their other friends, who were more concerned with the increasingly evident upcoming War.

Neville's sixth year had brought renewed pressures of school work as Neville started studying for his NEWTs and Luna entered the year she would take her OWLs. However the two friends still managed to steal a few moments together every once in a while; most prominently on the Hogwarts Express in September. Neville had found Luna in a compartment by herself, something which he had come to know was not unusual. However, what was out of the ordinary was the fact that Luna Lovegood was crying, sobbing her heart out and trying to hide it behind an edition of The Quibbler. Neville had never been very good with tears, but he did the only thing that made sense and took the Quibbler from Luna's trembling hands, sat down beside her and embraced her in the strongest hug he could manage, not even asking her what was wrong yet. Luna had cried and cried before confiding in Neville that someone had called her names and laughed at her about her mother's death. Neville had been overtaken by an irrational rage, which he could still remember even now, but Luna had asked him to stay with her, not to seek revenge, and soon that anger had subsided to be replaced by only concern for the girl next to him. They had talked for ages, until the sparkle had returned to Luna's eyes and until she was talking to Neville about the best places to find Wrackspurts again, and Neville could not have been happier.

The death of Albus Dumbledore had brought Neville and Luna closer together yet again. The whole school had rushed outside once they knew something was happening, led by Professor McGonagall, who was the first in a long line of people to see the dead body of Albus Dumbledore lying crumpled, beneath the Astronomy Tower, with Harry Potter crying by the side of it. Neville and Luna had somehow found each other in the commotion of leaving the Great Hall and were quite near to the front of the crowd of students; close enough to see their former headmaster's body, and close enough to see Ginny Weasley run to Harry in an attempt to comfort him. Neville had subconsciously looked over at Luna and found her with silent tears running down her cheeks as she trembled slightly. Neville had wrapped his arm around her in a comforting gesture, feeling tears in his own eyes as the whole school mourned their fallen Headmaster. Nobody had slept that night, no one had even gone back to their dormitories, so Neville and Luna had spent the night talking in the Great Hall, unnoticed in a crowd of people, all of whom could not bear to be alone, and it was then that Neville knew he had to tell Luna how he felt about her one day, he couldn't live without her and didn't intend to try.

Neville and Luna had spent the next summer writing to each other about nothing and everything, unable to see each other due to safety concerns and also having to be careful exactly what they saying in letters at the same time. They had picked each other out on Platform Nine and Three Quarters almost instantaneously; their eyes and hearts subconsciously trained to sense when the other was near. Neville had promised Xenophilius Lovegood that he would look after Luna as they had ascended onto the Hogwarts Express, both nervous; knowing the school they loved was now in the hands of Death Eaters. Luna had soon began crying again, confessing to Neville after he had held her tightly in his arms, not caring about the stares he got from his classmates, that she and her father had received threats from the Death Eaters for supporting Harry Potter. Neville remembered reassuring Luna that everything would be all right and the Death Eaters would have to get through him first before they got to Luna. Luna had brightened instantly and Neville had joked about how trains seemed to be his lucky place to find girls in his arms, much to Luna's amusement, before she had laced her fingers with his, a sign of strength and solidarity in the increasingly scary times which lay ahead.

Neville, Luna and Ginny had been at the forefront of the rebellion at Hogwarts against Snape and the Carrows, meaning that the three of them were the ones that suffered the most punishments most frequently. Neville protected both Luna and Ginny from the majority of the punishments, taking them for himself, knowing that he was physically stronger and could withstand more punishment than the girls who he simply wanted to keep safe. However about two weeks into the term, Luna got a detention for voicing her opinion on Harry; something which had scared Neville to no end as he had walked Luna to Alecto Carrow's office on that fateful evening. Luna had come staggering into the Room of Requirement some time later, when darkness had taken over the sky and the majority of students were asleep, but Neville Longbottom had still found himself wide awake, worry in heart and tears in his eyes. Neville had rushed to Luna as soon as he saw her curtain of sheer blonde hair, and had caught her in his arms just before she fell over, the pain of the torture she had endured, finally too much for her. Neville had carried Luna over to the makeshift medical area they had set up in a secluded corner of the students' hideaway, and as he lay her down gently, only then did the horror of what she had gone through hit him as he looked at her properly. Neville remembered with tremendous anxiety how her eyes had been blackened, her lip cut and her arms and neck bruised, while Luna's fragile form shook uncontrollably, a sure sign of the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse. Neville had healed Luna's injuries carefully, reassuring her as he did so and eventually, with a lot of love and tenderness, the smile returned to Luna's face and she had allowed Neville to put her to bed, after convincing her she needed sleep and that he wasn't far away.

Neville himself had also had detentions, many more than Luna and Ginny, and often the punishments he endured were worse than the ones doled out to other students, as the Carrows and Snape recognised him as the main ringleader of the rebellion and sought to make an example out of him. The first time Neville had been to a detention with the Carrows he had been subjected to the Cruciatus Curse; giving him an insight into the pain and suffering his parents must have experienced at the hands of the Death Eaters. Neville did not know how he had got back to the Room of Requirement that night, but he remembered Luna, meeting him at the door, holding onto him and supporting him as he shook with both pain and anger. Luna had stayed with Neville all night while he ranted at her about the Carrows and while he attempted to stop shaking as well. Luna had provided a source of comfort to Neville, simply with her presence and ability to listen in a non-judgemental fashion, and for that Neville would always be eternally grateful. Luna had made Neville smile when he never thought he would, and Neville was positive he had done the same for her in the past as well, and he would do in the future as well.

Neville thought of each of these memories in return, each one making him smile in different ways and for various reasons which he was sure he would never be able to explain logically to another person in the world other than Luna Lovegood. These memories ended as suddenly as they had begun, and Neville was brought back to reality in the Room of Requirement where he currently sat in one of the armchairs by the fire, which had died a long time ago and was now just a few hot embers. Neville sighed sadly, the reality he was in now was the worst one he had had to face so far; he was without Luna, he was without his beacon of hope. Neville had always been able to face everything the world threw at him as long as he had Luna by his side giving him strength and something to fight for, however, now Luna had been taken by the Death Eaters and he was without her, and without the strength to carry on fighting. Another memory hit Neville so fast it was almost like he had been smashed into a brick wall; it was the memory of that day on the Hogwarts Express after the Christmas Holidays, the day his Luna had been taken. Neville remembered how Luna had told him she had suspicions she was going to be taken and that he was not to fight, he just had to let it happen because it was for the greater good. When the Death Eaters came Luna stood, not fighting them in any sense of the word, however, Neville could not just let her go; he fought valiantly to try and save her, but he simply could not hold off the two Death Eaters alone, and he had to watch as a tearful Luna was dragged away from him, both of them making hurried promises that they would see each other again.

Neville had not been the same person since Luna had been taken; that much was clear to anyone who knew him. Where before he had been the willing leader of the rebellion, he now did not have the will to fight on, as he had nothing to fight for; it was a well-known fact in the whole of Hogwarts that Neville was fighting to protect Luna and that without her he didn't want to continue. Neville and Luna had begun to act more like boyfriend and girlfriend over the past year, something which had not gone unnoticed by their friends, Ginny in particular, and without Luna, Neville simply felt empty and sad, like the light in his life had disappeared.

"Where are you Luna?" whispered Neville, looked out of the window and up at the moon "please come back to me."

As the unofficial leader of the student population, Neville was the one who went to Hogsmeade, to the Hog's Head to pick up any students who had been captured and had escaped, finding their way back to Hogwarts in the process. Neville was always guided by the portrait of Arianna Dumbledore which hid the secret passageway connecting the two ancient buildings, the only safe passageway in or out of Hogwarts nowadays. Neville had walked that cramped and uneven passageway so many times that he now knew it so well, he was pretty sure he could walk it blindfolded without having to think about it and without fear of tripping over. Each time Neville walked the passageway, following Arianna each time she appeared in her portrait he hoped with all his heart that on the other side, in Aberforth Dumbledore's hideout, was Luna, waiting for him, safe and sound, but sadly Neville had so far, always been disappointed, something which saddened him more than he had ever let on to anyone else, although they only needed to look at his face every day to know how he felt.

From his position by the fire Neville heard the murmurs of various students, still awake, most unable to sleep, unwilling to submit to the constant nightmares they had to endure, but he didn't mind, he simply focussed on Luna, willing her to be safe, hoping that wherever she was she could sense that he was thinking about her, hoping she was all right. The students had the sense to not bother Neville with questions these days, unless it was urgent; they knew how upset he was without Luna. Ginny Weasley, Lavender Brown and Seamus Finnegan had taken on a lot of the responsibility Neville had given up as he had been too destroyed by Luna's abduction to carry on, and Neville had to admit that despite himself, it was a relief sometimes to be left alone with his own thoughts.

As Neville's thoughts turned to Luna again, he remembered the night that Dean Thomas had come back to Hogwarts, bringing something Neville had waited what felt like a lifetime for, news that Luna was all right, news she was alive. He had told everyone, once Neville had escorted him back to the Room of Requirement that Luna had been brought into Malfoy Manor, where he was being held prisoner along with Mr Olivander, the wand-maker, and that they had all been tortured for information on Harry Potter, but that they had nothing to tell the Death Eaters as they did not know anything. Dean had told the enraptured audience of students that soon Harry, Ron and Hermione had come to Malfoy Manor where Hermione was tortured, but where they had all managed to escape, thanks to the help of Dobby the house elf. Dean told the story of Bill and Fleur Weasley healing them as best they could at Shell Cottage before he and Luna had decided to head back to Hogwarts. Dean had said he had left a day before Luna, something which made Neville angry for reasons he could not explain. When Neville asked why Dean hadn't waited for Luna, Dean had said he just wanted to get back to Hogwarts and didn't think about Luna. Despite Dean's regretful look at his admission, Neville had balled his hands into fists and had needed to use all of his self-control to not pummel Dean with his fists, for leaving the person whom Neville cared most about behind. The only thing that stopped Neville from punching Dean in frustration was the fact that he knew this was what Voldemort, the Carrows and Snape would want; they would want everyone fighting amongst themselves and Neville did not want to give them what they wanted, he just wanted to focus on Luna, which he did.

Neville wiped furiously at his eyes once again; not for the first time that night he felt tears begin to form in the corner of his eyes and run down his cheeks as his mind was engulfed with thoughts of Luna Lovegood, the person he loved most in the world. Neville resolved, as he sat in front of the dying fire, that if he ever saw Luna again he would tell her how he felt about her, he would tell her he loved her with all of his heart because in Neville's mind, even if Luna's response was a negative one, knowing how she felt would be eternally better than not knowing and wondering what might have been for the rest of his life.

"I hope you're all right wherever you are Luna," murmured Neville, his voice thick with tears, as he spoke to the moon, this almost becoming his link with Luna as it was her namesake.

Neville closed his eyes, tiredness suddenly present in his subconscious and in his heart as well. As was the usual daily routine, Neville saw Luna, _his _Luna, the one no one else saw, behind his closed eyes and he simply focussed on these images and memories, desperately hoping she was seeing images of him every time she closed her eyes and was using those images to guide her back to him. Neville knew this notion was far-fetched but it was all he had to hold onto on a daily basis, and he held onto it with all he could muster; the thoughts of these images giving him just enough strength to get through each day and perhaps even find some of the resolve to fight which he had possessed and helped others to develop so early on in his final year at Hogwarts.

"Neville?" said Ginny's kind voice, jolting him out of his thoughts "you should go to bed, it's late, Arianna won't come at this time."

"Just ten more minutes Ginny," said Neville, aware his voice sounded slightly desperate and pleading as he opened his eyes, losing the images of Luna once again.

"All right," said Ginny, knowing Neville needed some time alone with his thoughts, knowing how much he missed Luna "don't be too late though."

"I won't be," said Neville, knowing the exact opposite to what he had just said would happen as Ginny turned to leave him alone.

"Oh and Neville?" said Ginny, turning back around to face him, while Neville looked up curiously "Luna will be all right wherever she is, I know it and so do you, she's a strong, smart girl, you will see her again."

"I hope so Ginny," said Neville, slightly despondent as he looked at his hands "I really do, night."

"Night," said Ginny sympathetically, before she walked away to join her friends.

With that Neville was left alone again which allowed him to close his eyes and focus on the images of Luna again; the only things that had provided him with solace during the six weeks since he had seen her last. It was now the middle of February, Luna had been taken in early January and these six weeks without her constant presence had felt, to Neville, as if they were an eternity full of pain and hurt. Neville no longer screamed or yelled in pain when he was subjected to the Carrrows' cruel and sadistic punishments, he had no need or want to scream; the pain that had been caused to him by watching Luna being ripped away from him was far greater than any kind of physical pain the Carrows could ever inflict on him. Neville once again felt the tears start to creep into his eyes as he thought of Luna and everything she would never know if he didn't find her or see her again; the top of this list being that she would never know Neville loved her with all his heart. The tears that were now running down Neville's cheeks, leaving salty tracks, lit up by the dim lights in the Room of Requirement seemed to have become a daily routine for Neville ever since Luna had been taken by the Death Eaters. Neville never showed the tears to anyone else, he could not show any sign of weakness to the enemy or his friends, but he was pretty sure some of them knew how upset he was by Luna's disappearance; it had always been a running joke that Neville and Luna were the main couple of the revolution, aside from only Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione; people who had found love in the darkest of times and who were meant to be together; Neville just hoped the speculation was right.

Neville sighed sadly through his still closed eyes, there had been no sign of Arianna all day and it looked to Neville as if it was going to be another night with just the images of Luna he had in his mind to comfort him, another night of restless sleep and nightmares, all without Luna's presence. Neville opened his eyes and slowly stood up, stretching and yawning hugely, trying to ease the stiffness in his aching bones, caused because he had been sat still for so long waiting for any kind of news of Luna. Neville was just about to start walking away from the portrait which Arianna Dumbledore sometimes inhabited when he spotted a small figure in the distant reaches of the same portrait. Neville blinked once, twice, wondering if the movement he had seen in the portrait was simply his overtired mind playing cruel tricks on him again, but as he blinked the figure stayed in his line of vision, seeming to get closer with each time he blinked. Soon the figure in the portrait came into focus; Arianna Dumbledore, her brown hair waving in the slight breeze, a small smile upon her eternally young face. Neville couldn't help but smile along with her as he waved his wand at the fire below the portrait, allowing the fire to seemingly disintegrate into the wall, leaving a series of footholds up to the portrait, which Neville knew so well, having climbed them so many times before.

"Is there someone else Arianna?" he asked, that same bubble of hope which always materialised itself coming to the fore of his mind again.

Arianna smiled and nodded before turning away from Neville, beckoning to him and beginning the long journey back to where she came from, allowing the portrait hole to swing open, admitting Neville entry to the secret passageway that he and the rest of Dumbledore's Army had worked so hard to put in place. Neville took a deep breath again, trying his hardest to compose himself and not get his hopes up too much; the likelihood of the person being Luna was small, miniscule, and Neville had experienced crushed hopes more than once and didn't want to go through the rollercoaster of emotions this caused again. However, Neville couldn't help but hope against everything logic was telling him, that this time it would be Luna waiting for him at the Hogs Head, his Luna, safe and well. Neville shook his head, trying to diminish the hope which had taken over his thoughts to no avail, smiling as he thought Luna would say his head was full of Wrackspurts, he supposed it had been for the last six weeks, since she had been taken.

Neville took one last deep breath before grabbing the first two handholds just above his head, and placing his feet on the lower holds he knew so well. Puberty had been kind to Neville and he was now much stronger and more nimble than he had been in his youth; he had slimmed down considerably, mainly due to the fact that no one ate much anymore, and he spent most of his time running from the Carrows, and had also developed strong muscles in his arms and legs caused by the running and also the climbing in and out of the secret passageway. This new strength meant Neville climbed inside the passageway without much effort at all, looking back to find Ginny, who was watching him. Neville gestured to Ginny, telling her she was in charge, to which he received a slight nod, before he closed the portrait hole, plunging him into sudden darkness.

"Lumos," said Neville quietly, holding his wand up so he could see the tunnel ahead.

Neville began a brisk walk along the tunnel, stooping slightly at some places and expertly avoiding every ditch and lose stone which may have previously caused him injury when he was far clumsier in his earlier years at Hogwarts. Neville knew that he only had a limited amount of time to get to the Hogs Head before Death Eaters would descend on Hogsmeade and most likely kill the person who had escaped their clutches, or at least imprison them again; Neville simply could not take any chance of that happening if the person waiting on the other side of the portrait was Luna, he couldn't lose her again, and thoughts of this made him speed up even more, until he was almost running.

Neville noted again how the little bubble of hope in his chest had materialised at the thought of Luna and he wondered if this might be a sign that tonight would be the night she came back, the night she would be with him once again. Neville cursed internally again; he did not want to go through the turmoil of hoping the person he was going to see was Luna and then being saddened when it wasn't her, but it seemed to Neville that his mind and heart had other ideas tonight, as no matter how hard he tried to think of anything other than Luna Lovegood for a change, his mind always brought him back to her and that little bubble of hope in his chest.

"I wonder if it will be you tonight Luna," muttered Neville, with no one but the dark, dirty walls of the tunnel to hear him "I hope so, please just give me a sign you're all right so I can go fighting this War, it's just not the same without you."

Neville sighed heavily again, slightly annoyed he had allowed his emotions to take over yet again when ninety nine percent of his body was telling him that it would not be Luna on the other side of the passageway, it would probably be someone he didn't even know. Despite the sadness in his heart Neville continued down the passageway valiantly, expertly dodging any obstacles which may have impeded his progress to his ultimate destination. After about ten minutes Neville reached the exit of the tunnel, which he knocked three times, adhering to the secret code which Aberforth had insisted on, even though Neville could have opened the door himself anyway. Aberforth opened the portrait hole almost immediately and Neville was greeted by the friendly, bearded face he had seen so many times.

"All right Neville?" asked Aberforth, in his slightly gruff voice, which was so different to his brother's.

"Yeah, you?" said Neville, his thick Yorkshire accent evident as he had not spoken this loudly for a while, his words were usually whispers now "we got another one to come back with me then?"

"Yeah," said Aberforth, a glint in his eyes as Neville climbed down from the portrait hole, his view to the person who needed protection still blocked by Aberforth "been through a bit of a time of it this one has, by the looks of her at least, but she's a fighter that's for sure, this one is an asset to the cause."

Aberforth chuckled at his words for some reason which would remain unknown to Neville, who meanwhile had felt that spark of hope in his chest explode into an almost full blown fire; Aberforth had said the person was female, which meant there was a possibility it was Luna, however that possibility was still small, so Neville sighed again, dampening the fire which was roaring in his chest.

"Who is it?" asked Neville, curiosity taking over more than anything else now as he longed to know who Aberforth, the aloof brother of Albus Dumbledore held such high regard of, and had so much praise for.

"Oh you'll recognise her," said Aberforth, a ghost of smile touching his lips for a second that was so short Neville thought he had imagined it "I did as soon as I saw her; I'll leave you two alone, want a Butterbeer before you set off back to that hellhole?"

"Please," said Neville, who was slightly distracted, trying to figure out exactly who the person behind Aberforth could be some part of his brain still hoping, against hope that it was Luna Lovegood.

With those final words ringing in Neville's ears as confusion raged in his brain, Aberforth turned around and exited the room, going into the small kitchen to retrieve three Butterbeers. Neville watched his retreating figure, desperately wanting to ask what was going on as Aberforth had never done this before; he had never left Neville alone with the person he was taking back to Hogwarts until he was sure they were who they said they were.

Neville tried to shake the slight worry which had now developed from his overactive mind, and turned to see who the person was who Aberforth had spoken so highly of. When Neville saw who the girl was his heart stopped and he was almost positive a huge grin was present on his face once again, an unfamiliar expression in these terrifying times. Luna Lovegood was in front of him, smiling dreamily at Neville, her hair still long, blonde and curly, like a sheet of light against the dark, her brilliant silvery eyes bright with happiness at having seen Neville and, mercifully, Neville noted, she seemed relatively unscathed, apart from a few bruises and cuts on her face and arms. Despite the outward appearance which Luna portrayed however, Neville was smart enough to realise the scars may be in places which were unseen, the scars of her capture would be present in her heart, he knew that much.

"Luna!" breathed Neville, tears of happiness causing the word to come out quieter than he thought it would.

"Neville!" whispered Luna happily, a huge smile overtaking her features.

Before Neville knew what was happening he and Luna were running towards each other, Neville's eyes fixed on Luna's and Luna's eyes fixed on Neville's, happiness evident in both of their expressions, something which had become foreign to both of them over the last several tortuous weeks when they had been apart from each other. Luna flew into Neville's already open arms, the force of which made Neville have to take a few steps back to steady himself as he held onto Luna, his lovely Luna for dear life, scared that if he let her go she would disappear again. Luna was considerably smaller than Neville and very dainty as well which meant that she had essentially wrapped her small form around Neville, her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, something which Neville had noticed, but didn't mind at all, he had Luna with him, that was all that mattered.

"Luna!" said Neville again, in an emotional voice as he buried his head into her shoulder.

"Neville!" said Luna, tears of joy evident in her voice as she, like Neville had done, buried her head into his shoulder in an attempt to never let him go and also to prove to herself that he was real and he was really there to help her.

Neville was not surprised when he felt Luna's small form begin to sob uncontrollably into his shoulder, dampening his cardigan in the process; the emotions that must have been stored inside Luna over the last few weeks were something that Neville could only imagine, so he simply ran his hand through her slightly matted hair in an attempt to slowly begin to comfort her. As Luna cried however, Neville continued to comb his fingers through her hair in a comforting gesture, when he realised that her hair still smelt of cinnamon, just like it usually did. This small fact meant so much to Neville, so much so that he suddenly found a sob rising in his throat, the force of which when released was enough to bring him to his knees as tears which he had held back for so long were finally released. This resulted in Neville on his knees on the floor, with Luna sat on his knees, her legs and arms wrapped around him, neither wanting to let go of the other at any time in the near or the distant future.

"Luna, you're all right," said Neville, finally finding the strength to verbalise the words he had wanted to say for the past six weeks "I don't think I'll ever be more glad to see another person."

"I'm so glad it was you that came to get me," said Luna, still sobbing slightly into Neville's shoulder as she breathed in the scent of his familiar, comforting aftershave "I spent so long holding back the tears I don't know if I would have been able to not cry if it was someone else that came to get me."

"You don't have to hide anything from me Luna," said Neville gently, disengaging Luna from his shoulder so he could look into her beautiful eyes "you can cry all you want, I'm not going to leave you."

"I'm just so glad to be back with you," said Luna, burying her head in Neville's shoulder again "you're all I've thought about over these few weeks."

"You're all I've thought about as well," said Neville, allowing himself a small smile "you are all right though aren't you? That's a stupid question given where you've just come from, Dean told us you were in Malfoy Manor together, but what I mean is you can get back to the castle can't you? Anything else you need I can help you with at the castle, we can sit talking all night, I'm going to make that sparkle come back into your eyes."

"I'm mostly fine physically," said Luna, still trembling slightly with the remnants of tears "it's just the memories."

"I can imagine," said Neville sadly, holding Luna tighter to him as she began to sob again "you're safe now though, I'm not going to let anything happen to you again."

Luna continued to cry into Neville's shoulder for, what felt to Neville as a painful eternity as he continued to bury his face in Luna's hair, whispering words of comfort to her, things that would remain secret between the two of them for as long as they lived. At some point while Luna was weeping, Aberforth entered the room again, carrying three Butterbeers and three pieces of chocolate cake, which Neville knew Luna would love when she had calmed down. When Aberforth saw Neville and Luna sat together, Luna on Neville's lap and in his arms, he gave Neville a gentle, warm smile, something that Neville was not accustomed to seeing on the face of the usually slightly stern older wizard. The smile seemed to Neville to hold some form of understanding, as if Aberforth knew something that Neville didn't, but at that moment Neville didn't question it, he simply smiled, slightly apologetically at Aberforth and went back to comforting Luna, whom he had never seen so upset before. Aberforth sat down by the table were the Butterbeers and food awaited and simply averted his eyes from the scene before him, something which Neville would be eternally grateful for, as it gave him and Luna some privacy in their emotionally charged reunion.

"Luna?" asked Neville tentatively after a while, once Luna's tears had subsided slightly.

"I'm sorry Neville," said Luna sadly, her voice still shaking with tears as she looked up at Neville with shiny, vulnerable eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Luna," said Neville in a quiet voice as he regarded the girl in his arms, whom despite her slightly dishevelled state, still looked stunningly beautiful and pure in his opinion "it's those Malfoys that are going to pay for keeping you prisoner and for hurting you."

"I actually probably owe my life to Draco, Lucius and Narcissa," said Luna, in a voice which was not much louder than a whisper, while Neville regarded her with a shocked expression on his face.

"What do you mean?" asked Neville, both curiosity and shock evident in his voice.

"Well I think Malfoy Manor was just a place to keep us, the Malfoys never seemed to participate in the torture, particularly Narcissa and Draco," said Luna, her voice calming down slightly as she looked into Neville's kind brown eyes "Lucius would fire the occasional curse, but it was mainly Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback who tortured me."

"Bellatrix," growled Neville, a wave of memories engulfing his mind as anger overtook him "she will pay, they both will."

"It's all right Neville," said Luna, her voice enabling Neville to take a deep calming breath "I'm here now, besides like I said I owe my life to the Malfoys; they stopped Bellatrix from going too far, from killing me basically and Greyback, well he wanted to do…other things, and they stopped that as well; Draco in particular."

"I might have to shake Malfoy's hand," said Neville, surprising himself with his own words as he held Luna against him protectively "I'm just so glad you're all right, I thought I'd lost you, I thought I would never see you again."

"I think it was focussing on getting back to you which gave me the strength to pull through and find my way back," said Luna honestly.

At Luna's words Neville let his emotions take over once again and before he could control what he was doing he was holding Luna against him in an iron-like grip as he hugged her tightly. Tears spilled down both Neville and Luna's cheeks once again, despite Neville's best efforts to stop this from happening to himself. Eventually Neville gave into the emotions and breathed in Luna's cinnamon scent as his tears fell onto her shoulder, mingling in with her own tears at the same time.

"I'm never going to let you go again!" said Neville, his voice thick with emotion and slightly muffled against Luna's shoulder "I promise!"

"I know you won't," said Luna, her voice also muffled as she seemed reluctant to move away from Neville's embrace in any capacity "and if you think I'm leaving your side you've got another thing coming."

This earned a small chuckle from Neville, something which brightened Luna's heart more than she could ever explain; she had missed that sound and hearing Neville chuckle again, no matter how small or simple it was, was the greatest gift in the world she could have received. Luna had had a small crush on Neville since they had first met two years ago, however, this had quickly developed into something Luna realised was love; she couldn't be without Neville for long periods of time and he knew more about her than anyone else ever did, because he had taken the time to listen and understand her. Luna had hoped that when she came back to Hogwarts it would be Neville who escorted her back, but she had been careful not to get her hopes up too much as she knew Neville would be busy. When Luna saw Neville she had felt her heart almost explode with different emotions and the only thing she could put this down to was true love, as she rapidly came to realise in the seconds and minutes since she had first seen Neville after six weeks apart, that she could no longer live without him.

Neville slowly disengaged himself from Luna's shoulder, which in turn made Luna do the same before they locked eyes with each other yet again, both smiling hugely despite the tears which stained both of their cheeks; tears of joy. Neville wiped his own eyes quickly, not surprised when everything suddenly looked brighter than it had done before, including his beautiful Luna, who was still sat on his knees. Luna was wiping her own eyes as Neville watched her; her silvery eyes which were now rimmed with red and slightly bloodshot, as well as still being misted by memories and stories that Neville was yet to find out about. Once Luna had wiped her eyes she looked up at Neville, managing a small smile, which to Neville was the greatest sight he would ever see. However, Luna still had a few stray tears on her cheeks which she had not noticed, so Neville, surprising both himself and Luna, gently brought his thumb to Luna's face and, with a touch as light as a feather, wiped away the stray tears. Luna leaned into Neville's touch, something which he did not fail to notice, mostly because she was glad to have positive physical contact again, but also because it was Neville who was comforting her; the person Luna had always adored, the person she would always turn to when she needed comfort.

"There's some Butterbeer and cake over there for us," said Neville kindly, before gently interlacing his fingers with Luna's in a sign of solidarity.

"Really?" asked Luna, the smile on her face getting marginally bigger.

"Yeah," said Neville, relieved that Luna was smiling again "and it's chocolate cake; your favourite. I think Aberforth must have known that."

"Chocolate cake?" asked Luna in an innocent voice, her eyes lighting up with a sparkle so strong it made Neville grin as well.

Neville nodded again, overjoyed to watch Luna spring to her feet from his embrace before helping him stand up and walking briskly over to the table which Aberforth occupied, letting out a small squeal of happiness as she saw the chocolate cake. Neville chuckled again as he helped Luna sit on one of the chairs before sitting down himself and taking a long drink from one of the glasses of Butterbeer.

"You didn't have to do this for us Mr Dumbledore," said Luna, who had just taken a gigantic bite out of a slice of chocolate cake "you have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"Not a problem Miss Lovegood," said Aberforth, smiling at the girl's obvious joy at having chocolate cake "Neville here has told me all about you; he said you loved chocolate cake and that you'd be taken but he was sure you'd come back so I thought I'd keep some in just in case I saw you."

"But how did you know who I was?" asked Luna curiously.

"I knew your father years ago," said Aberforth warmly "your mother too; you're the image of her, I knew who you were as soon as I saw you. It helps as well that Neville there described you and has been waiting for you for the last six weeks; that's why I asked Arianna to bring him specifically, I knew I would know you weren't an imposter from your reactions to each other and I was right."

"Thank you so much Aberforth," said Neville, unable to keep the smile from his face "you really don't know how much this means."

Aberforth smiled warmly once again as he cleared away the now empty plates and glasses with a simple flick of his wand, noticing as he did that Neville and Luna had not let go of each other's hands. Aberforth smiled a knowing smile towards Neville, who blushed, returning the smile before Luna could notice.

"You two should probably be getting back shouldn't you?" said Aberforth, after a short while, filled with easy conversation.

"You're probably right Aberforth," said Neville, standing slowly and helping Luna to her feet "thanks again for everything."

"Yes thank you very much Mr Dumbledore," echoed Luna, her voice slightly more dreamy than Neville's, as if she was already focussing on something else in her haphazard mind.

"Just glad to see you happy again Neville," said Aberforth "and remember take any opportunity you can to do what you know is the right thing, don't let it pass you by."

At first Neville looked at Aberforth feeling a little bit confused by the wizard's cryptic message, however, as Neville watched Aberforth's eyes, which were twinkling slightly, he noticed them flicker towards Luna, then back to Neville, then back again and suddenly Neville understood. Aberforth was telling Neville to tell Luna that he loved her. Neville allowed an expression of shock to appear on his face for a second, before this was met by a knowing smile from Aberforth, all of which had gone unnoticed by Luna. Neville could not believe that Aberforth had figured out how he felt about Luna, but then Neville realised that it must have been pretty obvious given the position that Aberforth had found them in earlier that evening.

"Thanks Aberforth, I'll remember that," said Neville grinning as Luna bade the only remaining Dumbledore brother farewell "come on Luna, let's go."

Luna allowed herself to be led over to the portrait hole which covered one entrance to the secret passageway by Neville, who did not let go of her hand at any time. She watched interestedly as Neville waved his wand, allowing him to see the footholds he used to exit the passageway earlier that night, as the portrait opened above him.

"I'll go first and then I'll lift you up with me all right?" said Neville kindly, knowing that Luna would not be strong enough to climb in the tunnel by herself having been imprisoned with little food for six weeks.

"Will you be able to reach?" asked Luna, concerned.

"I should be able to," said Neville "if you can climb onto the first two footholds I should be fine."

"I'll try," said Luna, slightly dubiously as Neville pointed the footholds out to her.

"That's all I ask," said Neville "if you find it too difficult I'll come down again and we'll find a different way to get you up there. Do you have a wand by the way?"

"I do," said Luna pulling her wand out of her trouser pocket "Harry managed to save my wand when he rescued me."

"Excellent," said Neville smiling as he placed his foot on the first foothold leading to the tunnel "I'll give you a shout once I'm all right to help you."

Luna nodded, watching as Neville climbed into the portrait hole with incredible ease. After a second of getting his breath Neville gestured to Luna, from his position lying on his stomach in the entrance to the secret passageway that he was ready to help her. Luna smiled and slowly and tentatively put her feet onto the two footholds Neville had pointed out to her, using her hands, which were placed on two of the higher holds to help steady herself. Once Luna felt relatively steady she looked up, her eyes meeting Neville's as he smiled at her.

"Trust me, you'll be fine," he said as he gently reached down to wrap his arms securely around her and she dared to support herself on his shoulders.

Soon Luna found herself sat inside the tunnel, her legs dangling back into the room where she had just come from and Neville kneeling beside her. Neville stood up confidently, having done this many times before and knowing every bit of the route back to Hogwarts, before he helped and obviously nervous Luna to her feet, making sure to not let go of her hand. Luna moved closer to Neville, knowing that she would be safe around him; something which Neville seemed to enjoy as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a protective gesture, which made Luna smile. Luna and Neville each gave one final wave to Aberforth, which he returned with a genuine smile before Neville closed the portrait behind them plunging them both into pitch black darkness. It was then that Neville heard the worst sound he would ever hear; Luna's terrified scream.

"Luna!" said Neville urgently as he felt her grip on him increase dramatically as she was obviously terrified of the darkness "it's all right, I promise, just let me reach for my wand then I should be able to give us some light. Ah here it is. Lumos!"

Suddenly the passageway that Luna and Neville were stood in was lit up with the light emanating from Neville's wand, much to the relief of both Neville and Luna. Neville was naturally very concerned for Luna after she had screamed when it had gone dark all of a sudden so he slowly trained his wand light onto her, being careful not to blind her in the process. What Neville saw broke his heart; that was the only way he would ever be able to describe it; Luna had a look of terror in her eyes which was so extreme that Neville knew it would take a great amount of time before her obvious fear of the dark was cured. Neville also saw tears once again running down Luna's cheeks as she trembled against him at the same time; absolutely terrified beyond belief of the momentary experience of darkness which had just happened.

"Luna it's all right," said Neville, kneeling in front of her small form "the darkness is gone now, just focus on the light coming from my wand, that will guide us back."

"I'm sorry Neville," said Luna in a tearful voice, accepting a hug from the man in front of her gratefully "I'm so pathetic."

"You're not pathetic," said Neville gently "I should have thought about it and lit my wand before I closed the portrait hole."

"It's all right," said Luna sadly, her voice slightly hesitant "I've never had a fear of the dark before so you weren't to know I would scream. It's just I've been locked in that cellar for so long I kind of associate the darkness with that now and it's developed into a fear so strong I can't control it, I know it sounds silly."

"That doesn't sound silly," said Neville honestly "that sounds like a completely natural reaction to have, don't worry about it, it's all right, you're safe now, you never have to worry about being locked away in a dark cellar or taken again, I'll protect you, I swear it, I'm not losing you again Luna."

Luna didn't say anything in response; instead she simply wrapped her arms around Neville's crouched form and hugged him tightly, as if he was the only solid thing in the world she could depend on at that moment in time. Neville returned the embrace enthusiastically, wrapping his protective arms around Luna's dainty, slight figure, hoping she felt safe with him. Neville had always felt strongest around Luna; he didn't know why and had presumed there could be many reasons for this, as he never felt as strong around anyone else as he did around Luna. Neville thought it may have something to do with the fact that Luna was simply so small and seemingly fragile, while he was tall in comparison, so automatically felt more able to protect her and consequently stronger as a result of this. Neville had also concluded Luna made him feel stronger than he actually was because she had always been the one who accepted him for who he was and had encouraged him to be nothing more than himself in a world where people were increasingly pretending to be other people to get more power. Neville didn't really know why he felt so strong and confident around Luna; there were many reasons that could explain it, but all Neville did know was that he enjoyed the way Luna made him feel and he wanted to feel like he did around her for the rest of his life.

After a few seconds, during which these thoughts had raced through Neville's mind at top speed, both he and Luna broke away from their embrace, before smiling warmly at each other, perhaps knowing that their friendship had changed forever considering what had happened not long ago when they were finally reunited. Neville offered Luna his hand as he stood up once again, which she of course gratefully accepted, before the two best friends began to walk slowly down the passageway towards the Room of Requirement together, a comfortable silence surrounding both of them as they lost themselves in their individual thoughts of the person next to them.

"How are you feeling now Luna?" asked Neville after a short while "any better or more relaxed?"

"A little better thank you Neville," said Luna, her dreamy voice returning once again "I think it will take a while for me to be back to myself though."

"You're still Luna to me," said Neville, truth behind every single one of his words "still my best friend, the strongest and most unique person I know."

"You're still the same Neville I left as well," said Luna in an insistent voice as Neville shook his head "still the Neville that leads Dumbledore's Army, who takes torture on with a smile and who believes in the cause we're fighting for as much as I do. You're still my rock in this scary world Neville."

Neville smiled hugely, a gesture which was returned eagerly by Luna as they continued walking back towards Hogwarts, both not wanting to walk too fast as they didn't want the time where they were together, but without everyone else, to end so soon. As they continued to walk Neville once again lost himself in thoughts of Luna and how much he loved her. It had been the worst feeling he had ever felt when he had watched Luna being dragged from him earlier in the year, and paradoxically it had been the best feeling, the happiest he had ever felt when he had seen her earlier that evening, waiting for him to rescue her. Neville realised as he walked through the tunnel with Luna holding onto his hand tightly that he would never forgive himself if he didn't tell Luna how he felt about her; no matter what her response was Neville still believed that knowing the truth was better than never knowing. It was then, at the precise moment in time, as Neville's eyes met Luna's and she smiled at him, a grateful smile that told him she wasn't going to leave his side any time soon, that Neville Longbottom decided to tell Luna Lovegood exactly how he felt about her.

"Luna?" said Neville, suddenly feeling slightly nervous as he stopped to look at the girl he adored.

"Yeah?" said Luna expectantly, regarding Neville with huge eyes.

"I don't quite know how to say this to you Luna," said Neville, his voice almost quavering with nerves.

"Just say what's in your heart and mind," said Luna smiling "that's what I always do if I never know how to verbalise something."

"It's just been so difficult for me without you Luna," said Neville, his emotions finally coming to light, the fears and sadness he had kept buried for so long finally becoming evident in his voice "I don't know how I've got through these few weeks without you, I've missed you every day."

"I've missed you too," said Luna quietly "with everything I have. You've been all I've focussed on during the last few weeks; just memories of you took away the fear and pain and you're the reason I've survived this, but I still hurt every day when I didn't see you."

At Luna's words Neville knew it was time to confess his feelings; he would never get a more private moment to do so and had nothing to lose and everything to gain from doing so. With that in mind, Neville moved a couple of steps closer to Luna, meaning that in the slightly cramped space, she was now leaning against one of the rough walls, with him directly in front of her, the only light between the two of them coming from Neville's wand. Neville expected Luna to scream and be a bit scared by his close proximity to her after what she had been through, but she surprised him, and simply looked at him with huge, wide eyes, full of kindness and compassion.

"Luna," said Neville, in a low, emotional voice "I didn't just hurt every day I was without you; I died inside every day without you; nothing was the same, I couldn't fight, I couldn't laugh, all I did was hope you would come back to me."

Luna gasped almost inaudibly as Neville's words and Neville automatically thought he had said completely the wrong thing to his best friend, meaning that he dropped her hands from his grasp and backed away two steps to give her some space. Neville was incredibly shocked however when Luna immediately reached for his hand, grasping it tightly in her own, not wanting to let Neville or this moment slip away from her. The next words she said would be ones Neville remembered for a lifetime.

"Darling don't be afraid," Luna whispered in a sing-song voice "I have loved you for the longest time; you'll never know quite how long for, and I'm here now, forever, to never leave your side or your heart again."

"I promise as well as loving you in the past, I'll love you in the present and future too; I'm not letting you go," Neville replied in a heartbeat, meaning every single word as joy filled his heart, a very unfamiliar feeling for him.

"All along I believed I would get back to you; I think that's what kept me going so long," said Luna, unable to keep the huge smile off her face as she looked at Neville, the man she loved, the man she had loved since she first met him; who despite all her doubts loved her back.

"By just waiting and believing, time has been kind and brought you and your heart back to me just like I always hoped it would," whispered Neville, knowing this all sounded cheesy but meaning every single word with all his heart "you have no idea how long I've loved you for; something resembling an eternity I think; that's the only way I can describe it."

"I promise I will love you for so many more eternities," breathed Luna, practically singing the words, as she beamed hugely.

Neville and Luna stared at each other for a few seconds after their confession of love to each other, both happy but not quite believing their luck that they both felt the same way. It was Neville who reacted first, closing the gap between himself and Luna with a couple of small steps before he slowly connected their lips in a gentle and sensual first kiss, which was hesitant at first, before it deepened and both Neville and Luna's hands found their way into the other's hair, resulting into quite a passionate kiss, which neither of them expected. When the need for oxygen became too much for them, Neville and Luna broke apart, both their lips lingering on each other's.

"I love you Luna," murmured Neville against her lips as he smiled.

"I love you too," breathed Luna, grinning as she felt Neville wrap his arms around her waist and pull her against him into a hug.

"You will never ever know how happy I was to see you when I stepped out of that portrait," said Neville smiling fondly at the memory "I've wished for this day so often in the past that I just kind of let my emotions take over, I'm sorry if I looked a bit ridiculous."

"You didn't," said Luna honestly, as she rested her delicate hand on Neville's cheek which was grazed with stubble "I thought it was lovely that you reacted as you did, that we both reacted in that way; it was nice to know you hadn't forgotten me and that there's someone in the world who cares about me that much."

"I could never forget you Luna," said Neville in a firm voice "I gave you my heart two years ago, how could I ever forget someone who means that much to me?"

Luna gazed up at Neville, her huge grey eyes meeting his brown ones in the darkness, only lit by the dim light still emanating from Neville's wand. Once again Luna felt tears form in the corners of her eyes; she didn't know if they were tears because she was sad, happy, tired or just simply because of the dust and dirt in her and Neville's current location, however, all Luna knew was that she wanted to be in Neville's arms again, because when she wasn't the true horror of what she had gone through became even more prominent in her mind and her heart, and the thought of it scared her.

"Don't cry, love," said Neville in a voice full of emotion and caring as he watched Luna "please, you're safe now."

"I don't think I'm crying because I'm upset Neville," said Luna, while Neville wrapped her in a tight embrace "I think I'm crying because I never ever thought anyone would feel like you do about me."

"You're beautiful Luna," said Neville, speaking into her hair again "and I love you, nothing will ever change that."

"Thank you," said Luna, smiling ever so slightly, while Neville wiped her tears away with his slightly calloused thumb "you're so sweet, I've always loved you, I hope you know that; you've always been my hero."

"I'm nobody's hero," said Neville, not breaking eye contact with Luna "I'm just me, that's all I've ever been."

"Not to me," said Luna, honesty evident in both her voice and her eyes "you're so much more than you think you are."

"So are you," said Neville, tucking a stray lock of Luna's hair behind her ear, where he found her wand, which she must have moved from her trouser pocket, as it was now stored for safekeeping in its usual place, something which made him smile hugely.

Luna then shocked Neville with her next action as she stood on her tiptoes and planted a feather light kiss on his lips, before hugging him tightly. The two new lovers stood together like that for a few minutes more, just content in the silence, the sole moment of peace which either of them had experienced in a very long time.

"I don't want to lose you again Luna," whispered Neville, emotion raw in his voice as the moment Luna was taken came back to haunt him "I'm not going to let you go again; I'll protect you in every way I can."

"You won't lose me," said Luna, smiling dreamily up at the man she loved "you never did, I'm yours, I always have been; I gave my heart to you a long time ago."

"This may seem like a bit of a strange question then," said Neville who was smiling like he never had before at Luna's comment "but I gave my heart to you as well, so would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"You don't even need to ask," said Luna, her eyes suddenly becoming more focussed than Neville had ever seen them "of course I will."

"Shall we go back then?" said Neville, who was unable to keep the goofy grin from his face as he hugged Luna closer to him again before kissing the top of her head.

"I think we should," said Luna, as she and Neville began walking arm in arm back to Hogwarts.

The rest of the walk back to Hogwarts down the dark secret passageway passed relatively quickly for Neville and Luna as they talked about anything and everything; mostly about what was going on at Hogwarts at that moment in time and about how much they had missed each other. Luna still stayed close to Neville all through the journey and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, sensing that despite the light emitting from his wand, Luna was still quite scared of the dark. Occasionally Luna would reach up or Neville would stoop down slightly when they wanted a kiss from each other, or shared their new feelings with each other, which always made them smile. Soon they reached the portrait hole which led back to the Room of Requirement and Luna was just about to push it open when Neville stopped her. Luna looked confused for a second but soon this confusion cleared as Neville pulled her to him, before connecting their lips in a searing kiss, which was so full of love and passion that as their tongues danced together, both Neville and Luna felt the butterflies in their stomachs multiply. Soon Neville and Luna disengaged from their kiss, their noses still touching as they smiled at each other.

"You're so beautiful, lovely," murmured Neville "I just wanted to kiss you again, I couldn't resist. I just wanted one more moment completely for us before we have everyone else watching what we do."

"I love you Neville," said Luna, pressing her lips against his "we're going to be all right, I know it."

"I love you too," said Neville happily "I'm so glad you're back."

With that, Neville grazed Luna's cheek with his thumb, before placing on last sweet kiss on her nose and then one on her lips. Neville smiled happily as he heard Luna giggle dreamily as she grasped his hand with her own while Neville opened the portrait hole, extinguishing his wand as he did so.

"Neville!" shouted the angry voice of Ginny Weasley, in, Neville noted, a frighteningly good imitation of her mother "where _have_ you been?"

"Sorry Gin," called Neville, as a sweep of fiery red hair rounded the corner towards himself and Luna "I had to get someone very important back here."

"You've been gone _ages!_" exclaimed Ginny, who was so flustered she had not looked at Neville or Luna "I thought the Death Eaters had got you!"

"I know, I'm sorry," said Neville, feeling slightly guilty "but look who I brought back with me."

It was only then that Ginny looked up at Neville and Luna, worry and anger still in her eyes until she laid eyes on her best friend. Ginny's green eyes flicked from Neville to Luna and back again, her eyes brightening as a huge smile took over her entire face; a smile echoed by Luna as she stood next to Neville. Next Ginny's eyes focussed on Neville and Luna's interlinked hands and the fact that Luna was resting her head on Neville's shoulder. It was a few seconds before anyone said anything again.

"Luna!" screamed Ginny excitedly as she began speaking extremely quickly, waking up most of the students in the Room of Requirement in the process, much to their chagrin as they came to investigate what was going on "you're back! Oh I'm so glad you're all right! So this is why you took so long Neville, oh my goodness are you two together now? Oh this is so exciting I always knew you liked each other!"

Luna and Neville exchanged a glance with each other and chuckled at Ginny's excited reaction, which had caused smiles to appear on the faces of the majority of people who were now looking up at Neville and Luna, who were still stood in the portrait hole.

"Stay there, sit down on the edge and I'll lift you down," said Neville, kissing Luna's cheek before he began descending the footholds and handholds down the Room of Requirement below.

Luna, who currently trusted Neville with everything she had, took his word for it and sat down, balancing precariously on the very edge of the portrait hole. Even with Luna leaning down to him, Neville could only just reach her, so Luna knew she had to take a literal leap of faith to get out of the secret passageway. For a millisecond, her eyes locked with Neville's brown ones as he held his arms out for her, and she allowed herself to push away from the edge of the portrait hole straight into Neville's strong protective embrace.

"I've got you," whispered Neville, sensing Luna's nerves as he put her on the floor "I've got you."

As soon as Luna had got her balance on the floor and she and Neville had been able to have a second of privacy, during which they shared a loving glance, their embrace was broken by Ginny Weasley, who rushed up to her best friend and embraced Luna tightly, still talking very quickly about how glad she was Luna was all right. After Ginny released her best friend from a vice like grip, Luna returned to Neville who smiled kindly at her before wrapping his arm around her shoulder and allowing her to rest her head against his chest.

"I'm so glad you're all right Luna," said Ginny in a calm voce after a while, during which the rest of Dumbledore's Army had greeted Luna and Neville happily before going back to bed in their hammocks, and the three best friends had settled themselves on the dilapidated sofa in front of the dying embers of the fire.

"So am I, Ginny," said Luna dreamily "it's nice to be back with everyone."

"Neville's been lost without you," said Ginny, glancing at Neville, who was blushing faintly "I have too."

"It hasn't been nice for me either," said Luna sadly "I appreciated that you both fought for me when I got taken, even though I told you not to."

"We weren't going to let them just take you without trying to save you," said Ginny smiling, before she yawned hugely "I'm tired anyway, I'll leave you two alone and go to bed now, so happy for the pair of you, if anyone deserves happiness it's you two after everything you've been through."

"Night Gin," said Neville, smiling at the fiery redhead as she stood up.

"Night Ginny," said Luna airily.

Ginny smiled before bending down and hugging both of her closest friends quickly before walking to the far corner of the Room of Requirement to her hammock, leaving Neville and Luna alone. Neville was happy to be able to have some time alone with Luna and gently hugged her tighter to him, burying his head in her hair, as the new couple sat together in a comfortable silence, which everyone else may have found awkward, but to them was absolutely perfect given the chaos that had gone on recently.

"Are you all right Luna?" asked Neville, watching his girlfriend closely.

"I'm glad to be back," said Luna, turning to face Neville "glad to be with you, I am a bit tired though."

"I bet you are," said Neville kindly "do you want to sleep? I'll walk you to your hammock and make sure you're tucked in."

"I would like that," said Luna, giggling slightly at Neville's goofy smile.

Neville continued to smile kindly as he got up before helping Luna to her feet and holding her gently against him, breathing in the scent of her perfume. Wordlessly, Luna and Neville began to walk slowly over to a secluded corner of the Room of Requirement where both of their hammocks were located. Luna and Neville had always had a secluded corner of their hideaway to themselves; the same as Ginny, because they had been the ones who had brought Dumbledore's Army together and had led it in the revolution against the Carrows, so they had a bit more privacy than their other classmates; something Neville was grateful for, for Luna's sake tonight.

"Where are all you things Luna?" asked Neville, suddenly realising he had not seen Luna carrying a trunk when he saw her.

"Here," said Luna smiling, pulling a miniaturised version of her belongings from the pocket of her jeans and placing it on the floor, before waving her wand and returning her belongings to their normal size "made it all easier to carry."

"That's brilliant," said Neville, astonished at how Luna had still managed to use her intelligence when she was in terrible danger "anyway, I'll leave you to get changed, give me a shout when you're ready for bed."

Luna nodded before reaching up and placing a soft lingering kiss on Neville's lips, which Neville lovingly returned before exiting the space surrounding Luna's hammock through the thin curtains which led to his own, leaving Luna to get ready for bed, thinking he would do the same. As Neville got changed he thought about how much of a comfort it had always been to be close to Luna of a night; there had been many a time where neither of them could sleep and had sat up all night talking. Neville wondered if the whole reason he hadn't been able to sleep while Luna was gone was the fact that he didn't like knowing the hammock beside his was empty; that there was no comforting presence of Luna if he needed to talk. Neville smiled as he realised he wouldn't have to worry about this again; Luna was back, safe and he would protect her with everything he had from now on.

"Neville?" called Luna's voice quietly.

"You all right Luna?" asked Neville in his thick Yorkshire accent as he entered the part of the Room of Requirement which symbolised Luna's space, taking her in his arms as he did so.

"I'm fine," said Luna, her voice sounding incredibly vulnerable all of a sudden, which worried Neville greatly.

"You sure?" asked Neville, concerned as he looked into Luna's misty eyes, noting that they were glazed over with tears "what's wrong, love? Tell me."

"It's silly," said Luna sadly.

"You might think it is but I want to know what it is so I can make you feel better," said Neville, taking Luna's hands in his own "tell me."

"It's just…it's just," began Luna, hesitating slightly "it's just…the dark. I'm really scared of it now, the only time I wasn't scared was when you were there, holding me, telling me it was all right."

"I'll be right through here if you need me," said Neville sympathetically "I promise."

"I'm scared I'll get nightmares again as well," said Luna, near tears by this point "the last few nights on my way back I've had horrible nightmares and every time I woke up screaming and crying and all I wanted was you to tell me everything would be all right; that the nightmares weren't real and you were there for me."

"Like I said, I'm right through the curtains if you need me," said Neville, wiping a stray tear from Luna's cheek "like always."

"C-Can you s-stay with me?" asked Luna, in a more vulnerable and nervous voice than Neville had ever heard her use before "like just sleep here and stay with me, please?"

"Of course I will!" said Neville, holding Luna against his chest as her tears leaked from her eyes dampening his t-shirt which he wore to bed with his pyjama bottoms "you shouldn't have been nervous about asking Luna, of course I'll stay with you, for as long as you need me to."

"Thank you," said Luna, a small smile creeping onto her face "now we just need to make this hammock bigger."

It was almost as if the Room of Requirement had heard Luna because all of a sudden, Neville's hammock flew through the curtains towards Luna's and they were both transformed into one larger hammock, easily big enough for two people, with pillows for each Neville and Luna and a large, plush, soft quilt, something which made Luna smile hugely as it had been a while since she had slept with a quilt shrouding her from the cold.

"Lovely!" said Neville smiling.

Luna and Neville climbed into the hammock together, smiling slightly bashfully as they did so, before Neville wrapped his arms around Luna's small form so that her back was resting against his chest and their legs were entwined. Neville reached around a stole a quick kiss from Luna, who smiled against his lips, already relaxing more than she had done in weeks in Neville's protective embrace.

"Night," murmured Neville, smiling into Luna's hair "I love you Luna, I'm here if you need me, but I intend to keep those nightmares and fears away so you have a decent night's sleep."

"Thank you," said Luna, yawning hugely "goodnight Neville, I love you."

With that, the new couple relaxed into each other's arms, both quickly falling into a sleep, which was for once undisturbed and full of dreams which made them smile in their sleep rather than nightmares; both happy in the knowledge that they would never have to spend a night alone again.

* * *

**_After the Battle of Hogwarts_**

The War was over, the Battle was won, Voldemort was dead and Harry Potter was victorious. The Wizarding World should have been rejoicing the victory, celebrating those who were alive, but instead the majority of students, teachers, members of the Order of the Phoenix and Aurors were mourning the dead, the ones caught in the crossfire of the Battle. Most prominent in the scene of grief were the Weasley family; their shocking red hair making them stand out as they mourned over the body of their fallen son, brother, friend and twin, Fred Weasley. There were also many injured people in the Great Hall and Madame Pomfrey, who was being assisted by many Healers from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies, was bustling backwards and forwards between them all, desperately trying to heal them as soon as possible before she moved to the next crying or moaning person with a horrific injury.

Neville Longbottom was sat in the Great Hall in a secluded corner, dirty and bloodied, just trying to find some peace and quiet in the chaotic aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts, which had seen him become a hero after he had killed Voldemort's snake, Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor. Neville glanced down at the Sword, which was still clasped in his hands and smiled wistfully; he didn't want to let the Sword go yet, he hadn't quite got used to the idea that the danger had passed, and wanted to hold onto a weapon in case he needed it again.

Neville found himself surrounded by girls, a feeling to which he was not accustomed and which made him very uncomfortable. He had either never met or knew very little about the girls who surrounded him, but Neville noted that they all seemed to know everything about him all of a sudden, and seemed to find him interesting for the first time in seven years. It mystified Neville as to why girls currently surrounded him, but their incessant talking and inability to leave him alone and realise that he didn't care what they had to say, or how much they admired his heroism, or how much they regretted not noticing him before now, were all grating on his usually calm and patient personality.

"So how about we go out some time Neville?" asked Hannah Abbott in her simpering voice which cut through Neville like knives "now you're a hero and all I'd love for you to take me to Hogsmeade."

"No thank you Hannah," said Neville, through gritted teeth as he tried to politely turn the girl who had now sat beside him down "I'm going out with Luna you see, so I'm not interested in going to Hogsmeade with anyone but her."

At the mention of Luna's name, Neville felt his thoughts of her, which were always present in his mind, intensify. They had kissed passionately during the Battle and declared their undying love for each other before running off and fighting separate battles, knowing that if they had stayed together during the Battle they would have been more of a target. Neville had seen Luna not long after he had killed Nagini and she had beamed at him, brimming with pride, as she always had been, but they had been unable to get to each other because of the crowd pushing them apart. Neville had not seen Luna since then and he hoped she was all right; he wanted to go and look for her, but unfortunately the girls around him were preventing him from getting up to exit the claustrophobic environment they had created around him. Neville simply sat in the Great Hall, looking at the door, hoping either that Luna would come floating into the room to rescue him or that the girls around him would realise that he wasn't interested, get bored and leave.

"She's loony," said Hannah, a spiteful tone to her voice, suddenly jolting a now angry Neville out of his thoughts "why would you want her when you could have me?"

"Luna is beautiful, smart, kind, funny, unique and lovely," said Neville, anger evident in his voice "she is _not_ loony. I love her with everything I have and you will never ever change that, now I suggest you leave!"

As Neville lost himself in thoughts of Luna, he smiled, drowning out the voices of his admirers, who were becoming annoyed by the fact he wasn't paying attention to them, as Hannah Abbott flounced away. Neville remembered that he had promised himself that if Harry and the Order of the Phoenix won the War, and both he and Luna came out of it alive, then he would propose to his girlfriend, because he knew he couldn't live without her. Neville knew most people would say it was too soon to think about marriage; he and Luna had only been dating a few months, but Neville was absolutely positive he was making the right decision, he wanted, needed to be with Luna forever. At the thought of proposing to Luna, Neville felt into the pocket of his cardigan with his free hand, relieved to find the small velvety box, which held the engagement ring he had picked out, still there. Neville remembered sneaking into Hogsmeade late one night to pick up the ring he had requested, which had been made especially for Luna; it was gold, with a diamond at its centre, then with a ruby on one side of the diamond and a sapphire on the other side, both slightly smaller than the rather large diamond. As soon as Aberforth had handed Neville the box, Neville knew this was the perfect ring, the _only _ring he could ever propose to his stunning girlfriend with, he just hoped she liked it as well. Neville could not deny he was nervous about proposing to Luna, but no matter what everyone else thought, he knew it was the right thing to do.

All of a sudden, Neville was jolted out of his reverie as he saw a girl with silvery blonde hair enter the Great Hall, a dreamy look on her face as her eyes scanned the crowds in front of her, looking desperately for the man she loved. Neville could not keep the grin off his face as he saw Luna Lovegood, who to his immense relief, looked unscathed apart from a few scratches and cuts on her face and arms, probably caused by falling debris of the now destroyed school that was once Hogwarts. Neville got to his feet when he saw Luna, noting the jolt of pain which coursed through his ankle as he put weight on it. Neville waved enthusiastically to Luna with his free hand, as he used the Sword of Gryffindor as an aid to helping him stand up and combat the sudden aches and pains he felt.

"Excuse me everyone," said Neville bluntly, as Luna waved at him "I have to go and see my girlfriend."

Neville pushed his way through the crowd that had developed around him, not paying any attention to the annoyed shouts or words from his so-called admirers; all he saw was Luna, who was running towards him as fast as she could. Neville attempted to move quickly towards her, but found that he could only take hobbling steps or his ankle would collapse on him. Therefore, Neville took a few steps forward, clearing himself of the crowd of people who were around him, as he watched Luna ignore everyone around her, her eyes focussed only on him. As Luna got closer to him Neville opened his arms for her, allowing the Sword of Gryffindor to clatter to the floor without a second thought. Every single one of Neville's defences was suddenly down, every wall broken through as Luna crashed into him, gripping his cardigan with everything she had as they both fell to the floor, a small chuckle escaping Neville as they did so.

"Neville!" exclaimed Luna, planting a firm kiss on his lips as Neville readjusted both of their positions so that Luna was sat in his lap "you're all right! I'm so proud of you, you've been so brave, but you've always been brave to me of course. I love you so much."

"I love you too Luna," said Neville, happiness radiating from him as the last of his defences crumbled when he looked into Luna's eyes; she had always been able to see right through him, while others hadn't cared to look "I was worried I would never see you again."

No further words needed to be said between Neville and Luna; they knew how grateful they were that their lover, their best friend, their other half was all right, and they also knew how much they loved each other as they descended into a comfortable silence. Neville sat with his arms around Luna, who was still grasping his cardigan for a while longer, before he remembered the ring in his pocket. Neville gulped nervously as he realised that there was no better time than the present to propose to the woman he hoped would be his future wife; he just hoped she would accept.

"Luna?" asked Neville, hoping that his nerves did not show in his voice.

"Yes Neville?" asked Luna, curiosity evident in her eyes.

"I have something I want to ask you," began Neville, knowing this moment would shape his life forever "I wanted to make it into a big romantic gesture but I don't think that's going to happen unfortunately, considering I can't walk without getting pains in my ankle."

"What is it?" asked Luna, looking at Neville with huge eyes.

"You're beautiful Luna, you amaze me, you always have," said Neville, a smile forming on his lips as he focussed on nothing but Luna "you're so unique and that's what I love about you. You give me the confidence to be myself and you accept me for who I am. I'm not the bravest or most confident person but I've always felt amazing when I'm with you, you make me believe I am good enough, you make me believe there's nothing I can't do. I love you and I never want that feeling to end. I made a promise to myself that if we both got out of this thing alive I would ask you something I've wanted to ask you for the longest time, so here goes…Luna Lovegood, will you make my life complete in the way only you can? Will you marry me?"

Luna's eyes were wider than Neville had ever seen them and the smile on her face was so big, it reached all the way to her eyes, which were twinkling with tears; happy tears Neville hoped. Neville did not break eye contact with Luna as he reached into his cardigan pocket and pulled out the red velvet box, handing it to Luna, who took it and opened it, with a shocked expression on her face.

"Of course I'll marry you Neville!" said Luna happily, throwing her arms around Neville and kissing him once again; happy tears falling from both of their eyes "and this ring is beautiful, exactly what I would want, it symbolises the bringing together of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor."

"That's what I thought," said Neville, his voice thick with emotion, as he placed the ring on Luna's left hand "you've made me so, so happy Luna, thank you."

"I was always going to say yes," said Luna smiling "I would say no to everyone else in this room, but to you, the answer would always be yes, you're all I want."

"I love you," whispered Neville against Luna's lips as he pulled her to him for a kiss.

"I love you too," said Luna, melting into the kiss "thank you for making me the happiest person in the world."

Neville and Luna sat together for a while longer, simply happy in each other's company, both content in the knowledge that they would spend the rest of their lives with each other and that they could always depend on each other even if they had nothing else in the world. Eventually, Neville and Luna went to sort out their injuries, something which took mere minutes compared to the injuries so people had to contend with, and then, as they were looking for a place where they would find some peace and quiet, Harry walked up to them, smiling widely.

"Hey Neville, Luna," he said, shaking Neville's hand and hugging Luna "how are you two doing?"

"We're all right," said Neville "how are you?"

"I'm good now all the madness is over," said Harry, while Neville chuckled "thanks for all your help by the way, both of you, I know you've kept the fight going here while I've been away."

"Any time Harry," said Luna, in her usual slightly dreamy voice "it brought us together."

"Glad to hear it," said Harry grinning, as he clapped Neville on the back "about time too in my opinion."

"Oh and Harry!" said Luna grinning, as she exchanged a meaningful look with Neville, who gave a surreptitious nod to his fiancée "you might be interested to see this."

"What?" said Harry, looking slightly confused as Luna gave him her left hand.

"Look at my hand," said Luna patiently "what do you notice?"

At Luna's command, Harry regarded her hand, not really noticing anything he hadn't seen before; she still had four fingers and a thumb, her skin was still very pale, and her hand was slightly dirty from battling with various Death Eaters. At first Harry did not notice anything of note on Luna's hand and was about to ask what she was talking about, when he noticed the sparkle of the ring on her finger. Harry blinked once and twice to make sure he hadn't imagined it, but sure enough the engagement ring did not disappear from his vision. Harry looked up at Luna and Neville, who were both grinning at him, Neville's arm wrapped tightly around Luna, as she rested her head on his chest, and exchanged an identical grin with both of them as the realisation of what they were telling him finally hit.

"Wow!" he exclaimed quietly, so as not to draw the attention of too many people "when?"

"Just," said Neville, who couldn't keep the smile from his face "you're the first person we've told."

"Congratulations guys!" said Harry happily, as he beamed at Neville and Luna "this is amazing. Everyone will be so happy for you."

"They've all got more important things to worry about at the moment," said Luna, in a solemn voice.

"I know," said Harry "and I will keep it quiet for you until you feel it's the right time to tell them, but it's so nice to find two people who have found some happiness in all this madness, and even better that it's the two of you."

Harry, Neville and Luna shared hugs once again before Harry turned to walk away, to return to Ginny, who looked absolutely lost in grief, leaving both Neville and Luna alone. All of a sudden, as Harry took his first few steps away from the newly engaged couple, Neville had a thought, a spark of realisation that he couldn't pass up.

"Hey Harry?" he called, drawing the attention of Harry back to him and Luna for a second "be my best man?"

"It would be my honour Neville," said Harry, striding up to Neville in two large steps and shaking his hand.

Neville and Luna smiled yet again as Harry turned and walked away from them again, before sharing a loving glance with each other, knowing, without the words needing to be said, that they both needed some peace and quiet, that they both needed some time alone, away from the ever present spectre of death which shrouded the Great Hall.

"Want to walk to Hogsmeade?" asked Neville, looking down at Luna.

"Let's go," said Luna, decisively, pulling Neville along with her for a few steps before he matched her stride.

Neville and Luna spent the next few hours completely in their own little world; they walked to Hogsmeade, only surfacing into the real world to order a quick Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, before getting lost in conversation again, and then finally walking back to Hogwarts and joining their friends, who were of course overjoyed with their news, knowing that the two were meant to be together.

* * *

**_The Wedding Day_**

The day had finally come. It was the day Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood had been waiting for since Neville's proposal a year ago. After Hogwarts had been rebuilt, Neville and Luna had returned to school to obtain their NEWTs, before both being offered Professorships at Hogwarts, Neville in Herbology and Luna in Care of Magical Creatures, which they had of course accepted. However, going back to school had meant that Neville and Luna had needed to postpone their wedding for a year, which had been torture for them both, made easier only by the fact that they, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had been given their own private Common Room for the year, as recognition for their pivotal roles in the War. As soon as Luna and Neville had graduated from Hogwarts, they had started planning their wedding, and a month later, after weeks of frantic planning, the day had finally come for both of them, in the summer before they both started their new jobs.

It was a bright sunny day in the field between The Burrow and the land where the Lovegood household had once stood, where Neville Longbottom found himself standing, waiting for his bride, a huge smile etched on his face. Neville was excited for the day ahead; he was marrying the girl he loved and that was all that was important to him. Normally Neville hated being the centre of attention, despised it even, but he knew today would be different because he was with Luna. He would be the centre of attention, but Neville would be so focussed on Luna he wouldn't be worrying about what everyone else thought of him; he would be the confident and self-assured person who he always was when he was around Luna; someone whom his friends and family had become used to seeing over the past year, which made them all happy.

Neville and Luna had planned the entire wedding together; the only thing that Neville did not know about was Luna's dress, as per tradition. They had decided that they wanted an outdoor wedding; they both loved the outdoors and it was summer as well, which was always a bonus. The location had been suggested by Neville and pounced on by Luna as the best idea possible as it meant that everyone they loved was close by. Luna had lost her father in the War, only finding out a couple of days later and she had been absolutely heartbroken by the whole experience; so when planning the wedding, Neville had suggested the field between The Burrow and what was once the Lovegood household so that Luna could feel close to her parents even though they weren't physically at the ceremony. Neville remembered with a smile how much Luna had loved the idea, she had cried in happiness against him as he held her tightly, as she talked about how he was the best person in the world. Neville and Luna had also chosen the colour scheme; light blue, together, which reflected the summer sky and their love of the outdoors as well. Blue had been an easy colour to choose for a wedding, Neville remembered, because the blue bridesmaid dresses had suited both Hermione and Ginny and they had easily located blue ties for Ron, Harry, Neville and Mr Weasley.

At the thought of Mr Weasley, Neville smiled once again; he would be giving Luna away in the absence of both of her parents. Mr Weasley had been the first person Luna had thought of when Neville had asked her who she would like to give her away. The Weasley family and the Lovegood family had always been close, so to Luna, Mr Weasley was the obvious choice to give her away to Neville, considering her mother and father were no long around. The scene around Neville was decorated with a white carpet for Luna to walk down and many blue ribbons and blue flowers including blue orchids, blue daisies and tiny blue carnations. Although they had planned the whole wedding together, Neville had left decorating the venue to Luna; she had a more natural eye for design than he ever would and the outdoor clearing where he was stood proved that. Neville and Luna had a marquee in the field for later in the evening, but Luna had confided in Neville that she hoped to spend the majority of the day and night outside, and Neville was only too happy to oblige this wish, as it was what he wanted as well.

Harry Potter, Neville's best man, stood beside the groom smiling as he did so, and Neville noted just how different his and Luna's wedding was going to be compared to Harry and Ginny's was, which had happened only weeks before. Harry and Ginny's wedding had been huge, everyone who was anyone had been there simply because of who the bride and groom were, and it had been too much for Neville and Luna, who had barely been able to speak to Harry and Ginny all day. Neville and Luna's wedding, by comparison, was a small affair, with only a few family and friends there, including, to Neville's happiness, his parents, who had been allowed to attend his wedding accompanied by their Healers, given that it was such a special day. If he was honest with himself, Neville could have married Luna anywhere; in the middle of a warzone even, and it still would have been perfect, because he was getting married to the girl of his dreams, and nothing could change that.

"I saw Luna this morning, Neville," said Harry smiling "she's just as excited as you; you two mean the world to each other, I can tell."

"I just can't wait to marry her," said Neville, excitement evident in his voice "I love her so much, we have so many more exciting things to come and when I think of all the memories we have together and all the happiness we've experienced; if married life is anything like that then I can't wait to start it and I never want it to end."

"You and Luna will be so happy together," said Harry, patting Neville's shoulder "everyone has always said it; even back in fifth year Ginny and Hermione used to say you guys would end up together."

"Yeah, the night we got together one of the first things Ginny said was that it was about time," chuckled Neville "sounds like it was her and everyone else thinking that all along."

"It was," said Harry, laughing along with Neville, before stopping abruptly when he saw Ginny and Hermione walking behind the last row of chairs "oh look, here they come."

It was then that Neville heard the beautiful melody that symbolised _his_ Luna starting; it was a mixture of pianos and harps, blending seamlessly and creating a beautiful, unique, dreamy melody, which Neville adored, and would remember forever as the melody which brought his future wife to him. Neville snuck a look at Luna as she was escorted up the aisle towards him by Mr Weasley, and he was stunned by her radiant natural beauty, which he always knew she had possessed, and which he always saw, but which was on show for everyone else to see on that day; something which made Neville extremely proud. Neville had to chuckle to himself as he watched Luna make her way up the aisle; while Mr Weasley was taking slow, considered steps, in contrast, Luna was skipping joyfully towards Neville, a dreamy smile plastered on her face.

Soon Luna reached Neville and Neville shook Mr Weasley's hand, before grasping Luna's hands in his own, smiling hugely at her as he did so. It was only then that Neville got a proper look at the dress Luna was wearing and the more he looked at it, the more it blew him away. The top half of the dress was fitted to Luna's slim body, with a sweetheart neckline, emphasised by some diamantes, both blue, silver and, Neville noted in surprise, red, almost as if Luna had wanted to mirror the jewels on her engagement ring. The rest of the bodice of the dress was plain and tightly fitted before it transformed into a beautiful floating, silk material at Luna's waist, cascading out from her body and to the floor effortlessly, so that it swished and moved every time she took a step or moved. This material was again decorated with silver, blue and red diamantes, and added a little bit of sparkle to Luna's outfit, not that Neville thought she needed anything to make her look anymore perfect. Around Luna's shoulders was draped a thin, lacy shawl, which fell gracefully against her thin figure. Luna had not done anything to her hair other than let it hang loose, and place a headband decorated with tiny blue daisies in it, which Neville loved as it was so simple but beautiful. The bouquet which Luna had been holding, but which was now in the hands of Ginny Weasley was dominated by a blue orchid, surrounded by lush green leaves and little blue daisies. All Neville could focus on at that precise moment however, was Luna, who was smiling at him.

"I love you so much," whispered Neville, resting his forehead against Luna's, moments before the priest stepped up to begin the ceremony.

"I love you too," whispered Luna, giving Neville a smile that reached her eyes.

"Ladies and gentleman," began the priest, as a hush fell over the expectant crowd "we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, if anyone knows of any lawful reason why these two should not be married, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

There was a few moments silence which fell over the crowd as everyone waited for the priest to continue, no one knowing any reason why Neville and Luna could not be married, and no one wanting to destroy their happiness at the same time. Neville and Luna both stood gazing at each other for the duration of the silence, sharing tiny smiles every so often, lost in their own world.

"Now," the priest continued "I understand you've written your own vows for each other? Miss Lovegood, if you would like to go first."

"Neville," began Luna, speaking in a soft voice, which still managed to carry all through the field "I remember the first time I met you, you were so shy, but you smiled at me like no one else had done before, or has ever done since; I knew there was a spark between us, but at fourteen I guess I didn't understand it until later on. You made my school life fun for the first time in a long time, I looked forward to seeing you and I loved that we got closer every day. You made me feel beautiful and strong, like I could do anything and between the two of us we got through the last years at Hogwarts, through the War, through everything. We survived the hardest part of our lives Neville, and I survived it because of you, because every night when I was in Malfoy Manor I knew I was losing myself in dreams of you, knowing I would come back to you. I did come back to you and I don't intend on leaving you again, you're stuck with me forever now. I'm yours, I always have been, you know that and just remember what I said to you the first time I told you I loved you; don't be afraid, I have loved you forevermore, multiple eternities, and I don't intend to stop any time soon."

Neville felt tears begin to form in his eyes and he had to take a deep breath to compose himself as he looked at Luna; she hadn't written her vows down, he knew that, they had come straight from her heart, much like his vows would do. Neville smiled at Luna, who returned his expression enthusiastically, neither surprised to hear sniffling coming from the crowd in front of them.

"Mr Longbottom?" said the priest, once everyone had composed themselves again "if you would like to read your vows now."

"Luna," Neville began, slightly nervously, hoping his vows would live up to Luna's "you look so beautiful today and I can't believe I'm lucky enough to be marrying you; I never thought I'd ever fall for someone as beautiful as you, and least of all that you would love me back. I've never felt good enough but with you it's all different, I feel strong, I feel confident, I feel like I can take on the world, you bring out the best in me and I know I bring out the best in you too and I think that's why our relationship is so successful, we make each other better people, we make each other smile. I love your smile and your laugh and I want to make you smile and laugh every day for the rest of your life. I want to protect you, keep you safe, build a future with you, I want to give you everything Luna and thank you for giving me the chance to do that. I remember seeing you that night when you came back to Hogwarts, I would have proposed to you right then and there if it had been appropriate, but the important thing is, you're here now and I know we'll be together forever because I will love you for as long as you love me and even longer still."

Neville had not taken his eyes off Luna's eyes throughout his entire speech and he now saw that she was beaming, with tears of happiness in her eyes, knowing that she would be happy with Neville forever. Neville squeezed Luna's hands gently with his own, before leaning forward and planting a feather light kiss on her lips, which very few people noticed as they were all crying after hearing Neville and Luna's vows.

"Thank you very much," said the priest, who himself sounded a bit emotional "now do you Miss Lovegood take Neville Longbottom to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," said Luna in a voice which was full of love, as she pushed the wedding ring onto Neville's finger.

"And Mr Longbottom," continued the priest "do you take Luna Lovegood to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," said Neville, without a moment's hesitation, grinning as he slid Luna's wedding ring onto her finger to join her engagement ring.

"Then I now pronounce you man and wife," said the priest, which was greeted by tumultuous cheers from the guests "you may kiss the bride."

Neville and Luna did not need telling twice as Neville pulled Luna towards him, connecting their lips in a passionate kiss, their first kiss as man and wife. Soon Neville and Luna's tongues were dancing together as they wrapped their arms around each other, losing themselves in their own world as they had done so many times before. They only broke apart when there were catcalls from a few of their friends, and as they looked towards the crowd of their friends and family they were greeted by raucous cheering and applause; it seemed like everyone had been waiting for them to get together.

"I love you Mrs Luna Longbottom," said Neville, looking at Luna and smiling.

"I love you too Mr Neville Longbottom," replied Luna giggling.

"Let's go and enjoy the rest of the day," said Neville happily "then we can have some peace and quiet before we start our new jobs."

"That sounds good to me," said Luna, as she and Neville walked down the aisle, followed by their friends and family "forever, yeah?"

"Forever," confirmed Neville, pulling his new wife towards him with a smile.

Luna and Neville enjoyed the rest of their wedding day, neither of them were used to being the centre of attention however, so it was nice for them once the party had started and they could spend some time together just being young and in love, because everyone else was preoccupied. It was then that they discussed their dreams for the future, everything they wanted to do, from how many children they wanted to have, to where they wanted to live, even simple things like the way they wanted to decorate their house. As the evening drew in and the party died down, Neville and Luna were finally allowed to slip off for some privacy and the start of their married life together, where they would fulfil every single one of their deepest desires and dreams and stay together forever, just as they had planned.

* * *

**So what did you think? Let me know!**

**Anyway I have so many more ideas for Neville and Luna stories, so hopefully I'll see you soon!**

**Thanks for reading!**


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